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Cougars are ferocious. Cougars are scary. But to LCDS, cougar means Cuddles, the school mascot. Cuddles has shown up for school events for as long as anyone can remember. No one knows who dresses up as this mystery cat, except for the select few privileged members of the LCDS community. As a child, I remember thinking it was Mr. Mylin because he wasn’t at a school function, and let’s face it, Mr. Mylin goes to everything. But then he was at the next event. No one really knows who is in that uniform until after that person has taken their turn and reveals their identity. That’s what makes Cuddles so great: he is one of the school’s greatest mysteries.

But why do we even have Cuddles? I mean he is nice and all, but at sporting events, who wants Cuddles the cougar there? No offense to Cuddles, but he isn’t very ferocious. We used to have that weird-looking, red-eyed, aggressive cougar on the Field House wall, but then it was painted over. Opposing schools coming to LCDS would see the cougar on the wall and they might think it looks a little strange, but at least it was intimidating. Cuddles isn’t terrifying at all, and his name doesn’t help.

To Lower School students, he is a sweet stuffed animal, but to Upper School students, his role is less defined. I asked people who they thought Cuddles was, and most of them said: who is Cuddles? Maybe we should have Cuddles at more events, or perhaps we should change Cuddles to the Crafty Cougar, Clever Cougar, or Combative Cougar. There are so many options; do we really want the name Cuddles?

I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with the cougar mascot, but maybe another animal would be better? Perhaps the Macho Mountain Lion, Jocose Jaguar, or Tyrant Tiger. What if we changed the whole LCDS mascot? I know tradition is important, but sometimes it’s for the greater good that we do change.

But for now, Cuddles is here to stay, so let’s enjoy this sweet cougar and try to unravel the mystery of who he is. I know who Cuddles is, do you?